JUSTIN COOPER - GRIT 239 450SX

GRIT-239 | 450 SX

Steadily continuing to make a name amongst the stacked 450SX division, Yamaha's Justin Cooper would plunge into the myriad of laps for qualification with fearlessness on Saturday; battling at the top of the leaderboard while competing alongside greats in the sport, many who had acquired significantly more experience as their racing careers developed. Cooper's proficiency was then on display for the first heat of the afternoon, where for this occasion, the premier division went first; and the Yamaha tandem of Cooper Webb and Justin, took full advantage of the abundance of traction. Though the number thirty-two could sense that Aaron Plessinger was closing in, although not necessarily quickly...therefore Justin continued to keep an eye on the rear wheel of the former SX champion ahead. Suddenly (after three laps of competition) Webb would tuck the front end in the corner before the finish line, all the while "AP" had moved passed Justin to take the lead; meanwhile the New Yorker remained solidified in second, with GasGas' Justin Barcia being seen in the peripheral view of the lane behind him. Lap by lap, Cooper's identity in this division continued to heighten; where with every cut and sweep of various berms, he reiterated as to how high his talent had progressed. Minutes continued to pass and Cooper wasn't fading, eventually hanging onto a hard-fought position of second amongst the best in the division before generating a game-plan for the main event. Though a sixteenth position on the first full lap was less than ideal, Cooper had made his way into the top-twelve after roughly a quarter of the moto had transpired. There was little room for error on this circuit, but as he caught and passed Shane McElrath, you could sense that Cooper's composure steadfast and unwavering when the course broke down. Finding a flow around that of Justin Barcia, it was a battle of the Northeastern residents when the two would flow in tandem over the "SX" triple, skating around the forthcoming left-hander while weighting the outside foot-peg in order to hop over the plateau that approached. Cooper and Barcia were truly going back and forth while trying to match one another's lap-times, with the younger rider (Cooper) eventually braking away and making a move on teammate Eli Tomac, on the twenty-second lap! With the veteran behind him, Cooper had no choice but to power forward to the checkered flag...clinching ninth and leaving Detroit with a significant sum of points.

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